U.S. patent number 4,104,754 [Application Number 05/767,634] was granted by the patent office on 1978-08-08 for process for the manufacture of shoes having a wooden base.
Invention is credited to Jose M. Tutusaus Almao.
United States Patent |
4,104,754 |
Tutusaus Almao |
August 8, 1978 |
Process for the manufacture of shoes having a wooden base
Abstract
A shoe having a wooden base is manufactured by providing a
wooden member having a shape corresponding to the desired shape of
the insole and sole of the finished shoe. The wooden member is
divided along a line substantially parallel to the foot supporting
surface of the shoe, thus forming a wooden strip or insole in which
a series of openings and recesses are made parallel and adjacent to
the edges thereof. The recesses extend in opposite directions
toward each other and receive small lateral flap-like extensions
provided in the front and heel upper portions of the shoe. The
lateral flaps are passed through the openings and introduced into
the recesses.
Inventors: |
Tutusaus Almao; Jose M.
(Barcelona, ES) |
Family
ID: |
8472711 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/767,634 |
Filed: |
February 10, 1977 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
Current U.S.
Class: |
12/142S; 36/13;
36/33 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A43B
13/08 (20130101); A43B 9/00 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A43B
13/08 (20060101); A43B 13/02 (20060101); A43B
9/00 (20060101); A43D 009/00 (); A43C 013/00 ();
A43B 013/08 () |
Field of
Search: |
;36/11.5,13,86,33
;12/142S,146B |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Lawson; Patrick D.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Wenderoth, Lind & Ponack
Claims
I claim:
1. A process for the manufacture of shoes having a wooden base,
said process comprising:
providing a wooden monopiece base member having a configuration
corresponding to the desired shape of a finished shoe;
cutting said base member along a path substantially parallel to the
upper surface thereof which will act as the support for the foot of
the user, to thereby form a sole portion and a strip-shaped insole
portion;
forming a plurality of elongated openings through said insole
portion at positions therein parallel with the edge thereof;
forming recesses in the bottom surface of said insole portion such
that said recesses join said openings and extend therefrom inwardly
of said insole portion;
providing front and heel shoe upper portions with flap-shaped
extensions;
attaching said upper portions to said insole portion by passing
each of said extensions through a corresponding said opening, and
then bending the end of said extensions inwardly of said insole
portion so that said extension ends are completely housed within
corresponding said recesses; and
rigidly fastening said insole portion to said sole portion such
that the bottom surface of said insole portion is in contiguous
contact with the upper surface of said sole portion.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a process for the manufacture of
shoes having a wooden base, which process provides remarkable
improvements and advantages with respect to known processes for the
manufacture of shoes.
Many shoes are at present being manufactured with a wooden sole to
compete, insofar as their finish and design are concerned, with
shoes which are made from different materials and processes, such
as skin, leather, etc.
It is clear that the conventional construction of the shoe having a
leather sole and insole cannot be used in the manufacture of shoes
having a wooden base. Therefore, special processes and techniques
have always been used. Thus, for example, due to the difficulties
of securing the upper to the base of the shoe, the upper was
discarded, the base of the shoe was raised by means of blocks, and
the shoe was secured to the foot by means of belts.
Also, there has been used a wooden base provided with transverse
holes which form passageways for belts or bands which, joined to
the foot of the user, secured the assembly.
On the other hand, and in an attempt to proportion a shoe having a
wooden base with a conventional appearance, various tests have been
carried out, so that on a wooden piece designed to act as the shoe
sole, there have been made a series of holes parallel to the sole
edge, which holes at their lower surface lead into a groove. The
purpose of the holes is to permit stitching of the upper of the
shoe to the wood base, while the groove serves the purpose of
housing the stitching cord, so that the cord is not worn out by the
friction of the lower surface of the shoe against the sole.
This known process presents important difficulties in realization,
due to the fact that the bases and the height of the heel
complicate the piercing and stitching operations, and also due to
the fact that a posterior complete covering of the lower surface of
the shoe must be added so that the stitching is not visible.
Therefore, a shoe wherein the upper is not extended to the heel was
designed, and also shoes of the "chanclos" (open-heel sandals) type
were made, i.e. with only a forward upper instead of a complete
upper since, due to the open heel design, the highest part of the
base, i.e. the heel, need not be pierced.
This arrangement presents two important inconveniences:
1. Sewing of the partial upper is slow and too much cord is
consumed.
2. The holes and groove weaken the base, making it fragile.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
These inconveniences have been overcome by the process for the
manufacture of a wooden shoe according to the present invention,
such process including the following steps:
A. Providing a wooden monopiece base member having substantially
the desired shape of the shoe when it is finished.
B. Dividing the wooden base member to separate therefrom a strip or
insole along a line substantially parallel to the surface which
will act as the support for the foot.
C. Forming in the strip or insole a series of elongated openings
parallel to the edges of the insole, and forming recesses on the
bottom surface of the insole, such that the recesses join the
openings laterally inwardly thereof.
D. Providing front and heel upper portions with lateral extensions,
the width dimensions of which are not greater than the length of
each of the openings made in the wooden strip or insole.
E. Mounting the uppers of the shoe on the strip or insole by
introducing into the openings the extensions of the uppers, and
folding the extensions beneath the insole so that they are housed
in the lateral recesses.
F. Mounting the strip or insole on the base or sole from which it
was cut, and solidly fastening both the insole and sole together by
conventional means.
G. Performing the operations of polishing, surface finishing, and
trimming of the sole, insole and heel until the shoe itself is
finished.
Insofar as the first step of the process for the manufacture of the
shoe is concerned, i.e. the step of providing a wooden monopiece
base member, any type of wood can be used, although the base member
is preferably obtained by overlapping pressed and adhered
boards.
The strip or insole should be cut along a line or path
substantially parallel to the surface which will act as a support
for the foot, thus ensuring a more efficient fastening between both
mounted parts, although the parallelism need not be precise.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
To complement the description which will subsequently be made and
for a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention,
reference is made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wooden monopiece base configured
to have the desired shape of a finished shoe, and illustrates
schematically a cut line used to divide the monopiece base into a
base or sole portion and a strip or insole portion;
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the different parts or
elements which form the shoe itself, i.e. the sole and insole
formed from the wooden monopiece base, upper portions having
extensions adapted to fit through openings in the insole and into
recesses therein, and non-slip material which may be applied to the
surface contacting areas of the bottom of the sole;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a finished shoe made in accordance
with the process of the present invention; and
FIG. 4 is a section taken along line IV--IV of FIG. 3.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The aforementioned Figures illustrate the wooden monopiece base 10
having a configuration corresponding to the desired shape of the
finished shoe. The wooden monopiece base 10 is divided along a line
11 corresponding generally to the slope of the upper surface of the
shoe, to form a wooden sole 1 and a wooden insole 2 having adjacent
parallel surfaces. Openings 3 are provided through insole 2, and
openings 3 are recessed as at 3' to form recesses opening onto the
bottom surface of insole 2. The shoe includes front and heel upper
portions 5 and 6, respectively, each having extensions 4
dimensioned to be extended through openings 3 and bent inwardly
into recesses 3'. The extensions 4 are introduced through the
openings 3 of the strip or insole 2, and extensions 4 are folded
beneath insole 2 to be housed in the lateral recesses 3'. Thus, the
positions of shoe upper portions 5 and 6, to ensure correct shoe
size, are precisely fixed.
Once the position of the upper portions 5 and 6 of the shoe are
fixed with respect to strip or insole 2, the bottom surface of the
insole 2 is then attached to the top surface of sole 1, solidly
fastening both pieces together by conventional means.
Subsequently, the operations of polishing, surface finishing, and
trimming of the insole, sole and heel may be carried out, until the
shoe is finished, and then sheets 7 of slip-preventing material may
be applied to the bottom of the shoe.
* * * * *